festival of art and creation

Zakynthos, Greece, 20 mei tot 1 juni 2013 with Marion Molier, Hans Gritter and Wim Vonk We are invited to represent the BBK at this festival. There are also artists from Russia, Greece, France and Spain. project website zakynthosfestival.gr/ our weblog zanterfanters.nl

During the period there was a program with lectures and masterclasses. We are also making one painting with all artists in public. The general theme is Light in painting. It was a very special time with lots of inspiring things that I can use later in my work .. I guess. 1. The artists from different countries: Russia, China, Uzbekistan and Greece. Very nice to have met them and to see the diferencies of our cultures and how it effects our art. 2. The churches and art, icons, paintings at the wall…at the Greek orthodox church. 3. Opening the coffin of Dionysos the Saint of Zakynthos island from the 16th century. 4. The friendly people and public on Zakynthos

Light in Painting

Google landscape paintingLaantje van Middelharnis, Meindert Hobbema When you google a painting for example I googled one by a Dutch painter who lived in seventeenth century Meindert Hobbema, you will find the painting many times and in different color shades. The colors in the images of the painting is changing because of the quality of the photo. But is the real painting not also changing depending from the place where it is hanging. If the light is changing the colors of the landscape theoretically the light ON the painting is changing also, in other words the same painting looks differently when it is hanging in different museums and in different parts of the world.

When do we see the right colors?

Google is showing us more than one image of the same painting at the same time. Only if you ‘ve seen the real painting you can judge what is right, but only to a certain extend. It is the memory of seeing the real painting that tells you which one you recognize as the real one. How disappointing that may be. Looking at art is a subjective experience depending from the circumstances you are seeing it and where and when you live on earth. Light is one of the influences art.

I also googled Dutch landscape painting then replaced Dutch by 20 other countries to see what comes out of it. Of course is it arbitrary. It is full of mistakes but it still shows an image: for example Greece landscape: blue, Dutch landscape:the sky.

Light in my own painting

Light in painting seemed to me a subject that mainly derived from landscape painting in a photographic realistic way. Light in Dutch landscape is connected to the precarious Dutch weather and that does not affect my painting. I thought it is not applicable in any way to the way I make my paintings. On the other hand I am often struck by lighting effects that you sometimes see traveling from one place to another. It can be very seductive, almost tasty when you see light penetrate through the Dutch clouds in an intense way: sharp or very soft . Dutch light is often extremely different and is changing all the time. These moments sometimes have a strong emotional effect on me, but never directly enter my paintings. I guess I transform these moments. As one of the things that are capable to reflect my psychological contradictions. Natural light then is one of the sources of inspiration as good as other cultural things around me in daily life: a shop window with a special light, lights in the night hours in the city can have the same effect. In my painting I want to find my individual way to look at general accepted images and symbols. Tradition and history are a reference to turn things around or upside down. I combine things that are opposite and can’t be combined at first thought. Often I start with something that is more in the way then a good start. Another time I make a mess out of all forms, objects, colors and materials that in the end intensify the surface. Step by step, layer by layer every indvidual painting tells it own story. Zakynthos One thing that I can not ignore looking at pictures of Zakynthos when googling it. One picture is repeatedly shown as if it is the only rock on the island. It is a must this beach with the wreck.

That will be my starting point. Marja van Putten, 2013

We had to work in our Hotel (Majestic Hotel) mainly at the balcony which made it a bit difficult when I was making the big painting ‘Laganas’. Unfortunately I don’t have good picturesd yet from the final piece. here are some of the making at the balcony.